December 21, 2007-January 2, 2008
Why is it so easy to fall asleep on different modes of transportation while traveling? Maybe because when I am traveling I am doing so much, maybe it is the movement of the vehicle that puts me to sleep, or maybe it is just because I am sitting down for such a long period of time. Whatever it is I just got really tired as we boarded our train headed to San Sebastián. My mom and brother arrived in Madrid on Friday in the afternoon. They had quite the journey. Their plane was delayed in L.A. and in London. It was so exciting to see them in person for the first time in almost three months! It felt very surreal.
Since they have arrived we have been checking out all that Madrid has to offer. We first headed to our hostel, which is in the perfect location right near the center of town. Their first night here in Madrid, was great. We had montaditos, which are tasty, little bocadillos and my brother had his first legal beer. The lights around Puerta del Sol were so cool to see. We also walked to check out the Palacio Real and Plaza Mayor. On our way back to our hostel we stopped by a cool hookah bar. What a great way to start off their trip in Spain. Saturday I took them on a nice long walk to see the Palacio Real, the gardens, Plaza de España, Templo de Debod, Casa de Campo and the Teleférico. After checking out some sights we headed to my barrio. I showed them where I used to live and where I will live in January. My new apartment is about 5-7 minutes away from where I used to live. I am so excited. I live near a really cute plaza that has a fountain and I also live really close to one of the main areas for restaurants, bars, and shopping in Madrid. My mom loved both of the places!
After a late lunch we headed back to the hostel to get ready for our big night out. We met with Rachel and her mother for a flamenco show at Casa Patas. I also went to this place when I last visited Spain and it was just as amazing this time around. My mom and brother loved the show! I definitely think the dancing was even more amazing then the last time I visited. The sangría was delicious and the company was great. Rachel and I knew that our moms would have a good time together and they sure did. It was very comfortable and it was so nice to have my family meet Rachel, finally. After the flamenco show and dinner, my mom, brother and myself headed out for some drinks. I took them to a small bar and then to a popular club. It was such a blast!
Of course, we were all a little tired from our late night out so we slept in just a little. We all could have slept for a few more hours, but I wanted them to check out the world famous El Rastro. Eventually we headed out for the busy, busy streets of El Rastro. After shopping for a little bit we walked to the Atocha train station and the Paseo del Prado. While we relaxed near the Reina Sofía Museum we watched some bike riders do some tricks and then as we headed to Retiro park we saw some skaters. They were coming down this big hill so we decided to check them out for a while. Of course, when we sat down to watch them they stopped so as we walked up the hill we stopped to talk to them for a while. It was awesome. Just what my brother and I love…skating. One of the guys let my brother use a long board to go down the hill, it was crazy. After hanging out for a little bit we headed to Retiro park. I forgot to mention that this was the perfect day to go for a walk, especially Retiro. It was sunny, with clear blue skies and crisp air. We checked out the Estanque Grande, the Palacio de Cristal and the drum circle and guess who we ran into…Rachel and her mom!! While we were checking out the park we just happened to come across the Tree of Wishes. It is something that Madrid has for Christmas. The Tree of Wishes is a large tree (a plastic tree) where from December 21st to January 5th, people can place a balloon, which contains their wish, under the tree and on January 6th, the balloons will fly away. I was happy that I was able to check it out.
For the night time my family and Rachel and her mom headed to Plaza de Cibeles. We got to see a show of lights (including fireworks), sounds, fake snow and pictures (projected on the Palacio de Comunicaciones). It was one of the most amazing things I have every seen. There were thousands of people in the streets, the sound was perfect, and the lights were beautiful. Rachel and I both agreed that this was one of the best things we have done in Madrid. I am so happy we were able to experience this together and with our families.
After the show we took our families to one of our favorite places in Madrid, El Tigre. It is a very small cider bar that also has delicious tapas and if you order a drink you get a free plate of tapas. We thankfully found some room in the back so we could all sit down and drink some cider. We had patatas bravas, chorizo, tortilla española, croquetas, jamón, and pan. It was a fantastic night. I will always remember this Christmas season. There are so many new things I have experienced this past month and I still have so much more do to within the next few weeks (remember in Spain Christmas goes until January 6th, El Día de los Reyes Magos).
As I said earlier we are headed off to San Sebastián. I am so excited to be spending Christmas Eve in San Sebastián. It is such a beautiful city. We had a fun journey getting all our luggage onto the metro and to the train station, but we finally made it. You might be wondering why we didn’t take a taxi to the station, well first off, we had three people and luggage so no one would take us all together and we figured we could save some money. All I can do is laugh sometimes when I am exhausted. While I was putting on my backpack and trying to catch the train I couldn’t help, but smile….
What an awesome experience, to have my family here in Spain for the holiday season. This is something I hope they will always remember even if it was exhausting at times. Well, when we arrived in San Sebastián we had quite the surprise. We arrived in San Sebastián on Christmas Eve night, around 10:30 p.m. so I was positive everything would be closed for dinner. When we arrived at our bed and breakfast out host, Amalia, had prepared for us a special Christmas Eve dinner. I was amazed! A couple also joined us, the guy was from France and the girl was from Argentina. They were so nice and had a great story to tell. Amalia also gave us stockings with chocolates and a special gift from San Sebastián and of course we toasted with cava. It will be a Christmas Eve I will never forget, something out of a dream.
On Christmas day since almost everything was closed we decided to do what the locals were doing, we walked throughout the city and enjoyed each other’s company. It was the perfect weather for Christmas. I was so happy the weather was beautiful so my family could see how amazing San Sebastián is. I took them to both beaches and we also went to the local skate park. I had a good time at the skate park with my brother. It was fun to see him skate and I also got the chance to talk to some younger kids about skating in Spanish. For a special Christmas dinner I took them to the famous hamburger joint, that I had went to a few years ago. Since it was only one of the restaurants open at night there were a lot of people there.
For our next day in San Sebastián we did some more touristy things. We went to the aquarium and to the Marine Museum. I also took them to Monte Urgull. Monte Urgull is one of the mountains situated in San Sebastián. As you climb the paths of Monte Urgull you can see stunning views of San Sebastián, especially of Parte Vieja. The mountain was also a major defense base for San Sebastián during the 19th century so as you walk along the paths you can see the remains of a castle and cannons. There is also a statue of the Sagrado Corazón de Jesús. We had perfect weather to enjoy the view. Since San Sebastián is a very small city compared to Madrid, for the remainder of the day we just walked around the city until we had to leave San Sebastián on an overnight train to Barcelona.
Our overnight train to Barcelona went better than I thought it would. We ended up sleeping in a cabin with six beds. My family had one side and there were three other people on the other side. I was on the bottom, then my mom and then my brother. I was interested to see if they would sleep comfortably because last time I was on an overnight train Josh and I had several passenger issues. One person wanted to leave the door open for light and then one person on another train wanted to keep the heater turned on high. Traveling really helps you learn to adapt to other people and your surroundings. I am definitely getting better at it and I think my mom and brother also experienced what it is like to travel. Thankfully everyone slept well and we arrived in Barcelona around 9 a.m. in the morning.
Once we finally arrived at our hostel we could enjoy the view from our room. We had another amazing hostel. Our hostel was right on Las Ramblas and we had a balcony, from which we could enjoy people watching. We also had free breakfast and drinks (including beer) all day long. For our first day out in Barcelona I took them along Las Ramblas and we also took the metro to the beach. We walked along Port Vell, Barceloneta and along the beach. As we tried to search for some places to skate for my brother we headed back to Las Ramblas and checked out Moll de la Fusta (a pedestrian zone that connects Barceloneta with Moll d’Espanya) and Moll d’Espanya. As we headed up Las Ramblas we checked out the monument to Columbus, the street performers, the pet and flower stands. There is always something going on Las Ramblas, this city is full of life. At nighttime we met up with…guess who…Rachel and her mom. They also happened to be in Barcelona during the same time we were there. Since I came with Rachel to Barcelona a month ago we decided to show our families some cool places.
The two other days we were in Barcelona were full of sight seeing. One day we took a bus all throughout Barcelona so we could see several of the famous sights. We got to see Plaza Catalunya, all the Gaudí buildings, Parc Güell, La Sagrada Família, the neighbourhoods of Gracia and Sarria, the outside of Monestir de Pedralbes and Palau Reial, Camp Nou (Barcelona’s football stadium), and Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA). We also went to check out the Museo Picasso, which contained a collection of his work from his youth and early works as well as an exhibit of pictures of Picasso and works of art that were in his studio. Since my brother and I both love skateboarding we spent one afternoon checking out some famous skate spots. The best spot was MACBA. There were a ton of skaters and I thought it was awesome that no one was bugging them about skating. I have to say there are definitely way more places to skate in Barcelona than in Madrid and it is great because no one is harassed. Even at Placa de La Universitat there were older people sitting down to watch the skaters. My brother and I also met some skaters from Switzerland and England. Overall, I think they were able to experience just a little of what Barcelona has to offer. I am really glad that I got to return to Barcelona for a second time because I was able to see new places that I was not able to visit last time I was here. This is a city I could see myself moving to in the future.
Our last day in Barcelona we had to get up pretty early in order to catch our morning train to Madrid. When we arrived in Madrid we had a problem trying to get a taxi to take us and all of our stuff to our hostel so I told my mom and brother to go ahead and I would get a taxi on my own. Since you have to go with the taxi that is next in line I went to the next taxi after my brother and mom left. The taxi driver threw a fit because he did not want to take only one person. It caused lots of drama because there were a ton of taxi drivers behind him and everyone started getting out of their cars. I told him I would wait for another (because he got all upset and started yelling) and then he said no come with me. I told him no, but he would not leave or take anyone else. So I left. I was so frustrated because all these people were standing around staring watching me argue with this guy. Finally I saw him leave with a couple and I returned. I apologized to the guy who was trying to direct the taxis and he said no problem that all the taxi drivers understood and were trying to tell the guy to relax (it is not such a big deal to take one person). I told him I did not feel comfortable driving with him being so upset at me for nothing. Right away they got me a taxi and all the drivers were being helpful…hehe…it was really nice.
The last couple of days my family had in Spain we spent relaxing, I took them to see my new apartment, they bought souvenirs, and we had an unforgettable New Years Eve. New Years Eve was great. I not only got to celebrate it with my family, but with Rachel and her mom and the rest of Madrid. To start off the night we got some tapas at a bar near Puerta del Sol and had some sangría. We celebrated the New Year in Puerta del Sol. It was crazy. There were thousands of people, music, lights, sparklers, fireworks and cava everywhere. We were dancing and meeting new people, it was a great way to bring in 2008. A great tradition in Madrid as well is to eat one grape per clock chime at midnight (12 grapes), in order to bring good luck for the New Year. It was a little hard to eat each grape because some were larger than others and they had seeds, but it still was fun to try.
This is a trip I will always remember. I felt so happy to have my two best friends with me. My mom and brother are not only family, but they are also the people who understand me best. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be here with my father, but I know in spirit he was here. I sense him here often and it is very encouraging for me. I know he would be thrilled that my family got to experience this together. My family are tres amigos, wherever one of us goes the others will be there to support and to follow. I know that following my dad’s death it only made us closer and no one will come between us. Mom and Russ I hope you absorb this trip and remember it…I hope it inspired you and helped you see anything is possible. If you want to accomplish something and see something new, you can do it. And wherever you guys go I will follow.
